I must begin by saying how much I am enjoying my new partner, Reilly! He is so much fun and such a good boy considering his age.  We happily go down the trail on short solo jaunts with me singing “You’re So Brave” to the tune of the old Carly Simon song “You’re so Vain”.  He likes that! He’s only done a few justified spooks in place when a ground bird flew up in front of him and when we encountered our first deer!  One of my big priorities on these trail rides is to have him walk home happily on a loose rein. No Arab Back Jarring Prance, Thanks anyway!

To say it’s been hot is an understatement. Even though I’ve been bemoaning the fact that I’m not competing this year and can be heard whining “this Saturday I’d be doing such and such ride”….I then check the thermometer and see it creeping up to the 90′s and think……..Hmm….maybe a slow walk through the woods isn’t such a bad deal!

When I picked up my copy of Endurance News this month I eagerly read the story called “Beat the Heat” by James Steere DVM.  Since I was going to write about heart rate monitors this month…..I thought I’d combine that with things to watch out for while riding in the heat.

I ran marathons in the 80′s and early 90′s. Back then if I saw someone running with a heart monitor  I immediately thought they had a heart condition and needed to watch their pulse rate!  Yes, I did know that the better conditioned you were the lower your heart rate would be (resting and running) and I knew generally what range I should be running in for maximum efficiency, but most runners back then didn’t have the technology.  Today, most endurance riders own a heart monitor and use it to some extent.  I always use mine in the Spring when I start conditioning and certainly use it on competitions.  I have one conditioning ride with a good gradual hill. I know that my mare will be at a certain rate the first few times we do that slow climb. I know when I see her heart rate come down….she’s getting fitter….if I see it spike and there is nothing around that excited her….I slow down and back off. With that said….don’t be so obsessed with the numbers that you ignore your horse! It reminds me of when I was in labor with my son. It was a LONG labor (a precursor to my endurance passion, I think!) and the doctor decided to hook up a monitor to check the severity of contractions.  All of a sudden my coaches ignored me and were enthralled with the monitor screen saying “wow, here comes a big one”….Well I knew a big one was coming and certainly didn’t need a monitor screen!!!

Remember every horse is an individual and their heart rate will reflect their breed and body type as well as personality.

I’m not an expert by any means…..but all of us can be experts concerning our own horses.  About 140 BPM is a good aerobic range to work in…meaning that your horse’s oxygen uptake is even with his oxygen burn and that he’s using more fat than carbos for fuel. If he goes into anaerobic range, with a pulse rate up around 150-250 your horse will burn mostly carbohydrates for fuel.  Certainly you’ll need to train your horse anaerobicly as a part of conditioning, but it stresses and tires your horse no matter how fit they are. Your aerobic and anaerobic range could be anywhere between 140-180 depending on your horse. This is a great thing to know when the weather is hot and humid. You may need to back down from your normal pace to keep your horse from being anaerobic.

Recovery is THE most important factor especially when it’s hot.  If you are traveling aerobically and stop your horse, if he is fit his heart rate should drop to about 70 after one minute and ideally down to 60 after 5 minutes.  On a really hot day if he take 30 minutes to recover he is badly fatigued and may be overheated. You need to stop, get into the shade and cool him down with water. Keep sponging him until the water you scrape off feels fairly cool.  Keep checking is pulse and watch his eye to monitor his overall feeling of wellness. You may need the assistance of a vet if things don’t improve.

A note here on respiration.  At rest a normal respiration rate is around 12 breaths per minute.  With exercise it rises just like our own breath.  An interesting comment Dr. Steere made in his article was that at the trot the aerobic rate is in rhythm with the gait. As your horse goes anaerobic he cannot maintain this rhythmic respiration and will need to breathe faster than his gate. This is very inefficient and physically harmful.  He needs to slow down.  At work you horse’s respiration is a bit slower than his heart rate. When you slow down or come to a rest stop respiration should come down to about 1/2 of their heart rate.  When the respiration stays higher than the heart rate this is an inversion. This indicates that the temperature of the horse is higher than normal and he’s trying to get his temperature down by blowing off hot air. If this happens at a hold the general rule is that your horse’s temp needs to be below 103 before it’s safe for you to go on. Again, head for shade, sponge like crazy, take his saddle off and offer him tepid water slowly.

Speaking of water…..plan your hot weather rides, whenever possible, to include any type of water.  Just standing your horse in a stream while you sponge them can cool their core enormously. Encourage them to play in the water in every form…..ponds, streams, mud puddles and many different types of buckets. Get them used to having water poured over them from bottles and buckets.  If they are only used to drinking out of “their very own purple tank” they won’t do well on rides when drinking can mean the difference between serious dehydration and a healthy horse.

Electrolytes are necessary. Again, I don’t pretend to be an expert on this subject which has so many variables it will need an article of its own!  Maybe next month!

I do appreciate hearing your comments and questions on these articles. And, I do hope the weather cools and all the bugs die very soon! I hope your season is going well and all your goals are being reached.

Ride Happy,

Nancy

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